On January 8, 2006, the Escobars performed their song Thunder at the debut of the redesigned Cadillac CTS at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Nuttin’ But Stringz performed after a classical string quartet. General Motors Corp. executives used the two performances as an analogy, to demonstrate that what used to be good enough (the quartet) needs to be reinvigorated (N.B.S).[citation needed] A video for “Thunder” is also featured on the website for Jack’s Big Music Show on Noggin. The exposure continued when they were featured in the first of five commercials featuring local artists on New York’s local news channel, NY1.

NBS gained some national attention when their unique brand of music secured the brothers a small part in the 2006 dance movie Step Up, and shortly after CBS featured “Thunder” during the 2007 NCAA Tournament. “Thunder” was also featured in the pilot episode of the television series The Black Donnellys, and was sampled in various television commercials.

Both members attended Dillard High School of Performing Arts. After high school Kev Marcus attended Florida International University and Wil B enrolled at Florida State University. At FIU, Kev met their manager Sam G and the three of them co-founded the production company DKNEX which stands for Di-Versatile Music. The group name “Black Violin” is derived from the influence of a famous jazz violinist, Stuff Smith; six months before Smith’s death, he recorded a solo album entitled Black Violin. The duo decided to name their group after the music of the most inspiring violinist they had ever heard.

Black Violin clinched the Showtime at the Apollo 2005 Legend title. Black Violin’s notoriety has risen with their performance accompanying Alicia Keys at the 2004 Billboard Awards, and by performing on the same bill with some of the industry’s biggest artists. The duo also are avid producers and writers. Most recently, they made a star appearance on “Angelina Ballerina” on the PBS channel.

Global automakers struggling with falling sales in China and Europe are now looking at the United States, which with its high level of pent up demand, could be the next growth market they are looking for, say analysts.

“Sales in China as well as India have been slowing down, Europe is very weak, there is only one bright spot and that’s the U.S. The U.S. market is very strong,” said Koji Endo a Tokyo-based auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan. Endo expects car sales in the U.S. to hit 14.5 million units this year – the highest in five years. In 2011, car sales totaled 12.8 million units.

But if PBO was coming, Merkel would’ve cancelled her trip, went shopping for a new outfit, gotten a mani/pedi and her hair did.

JojoRaze

You ain’t never lied. Merkel always looks like a sprung schoolgirl when she’s around PBO. I remember the first time she met him she had this look on her face that said “Why won’t PBO massage me, instead of that horrid Bush?”

lamh35

they are admitting it because they wanna portray Merkel as being on vaykay while Germany burns. plus u know wing nuts prob considers all Germans Nazis anyway. so win-win for RMoney

Below, we take a side-by-side look at Obama’s and Romney’s policies and their divisions on fossil fuels, clean energy, public health, and pollution. Beneath the chart is a more detailed comparison of the candidates’ energy proposals and rhetoric.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived today in Tunisia at the start of a five-day trip to the Mideast region, where tensions are rising over the democratic transition in Egypt, turmoil in Syria and Iran’s suspected advances toward nuclear weapons. His trip to Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Jordan has a security agenda, including new concerns about Syrian chemical weapons, along with election-season political stakes.

Good on Jon Bon Jovi for remembering where he came from and giving back to his community!~

HOPE is delicious! JBJ Soul Kitchen is a community restaurant with no prices on the menu; customers donate to pay for their meal. If you are unable to donate you may do volunteer work in exchange for your family’s meal.

Yeah, I heard Mitt’s voice say that on an NPR report this morning and thought GTOFH!

jds09

Ruh roh…Mitt has opened the door to his Mormon beliefs. They make a direct connection between wealth and God’s blessings. Folks (black people) are poor (Curse of Cain) because God is punishing them for their sins.

Romney told the truth when he said “I’m not concerned about the very poor.” I guess he considers Palestinians black. Who knew?

GN

He’s so racist. I couldn’t imagine him going to United Arab Emirates or Qatar or Kuwait and saying that those countries are richer than Israel (or in the case of Qatar, richer than the US as well) because they are culturally superior. Plain old nasty and divisive attack against a group of color designed to appeal to his base. I have just completely lost respect for this man, and I really didn’t expect to dislike him on a personal level when this contest started.

BoomerGal

You mean, “the curse of Ham.”

GN

Divisive and hateful. Reading about his take on his and Ann’s success (which downplays the significant boost which he obtained from his father’s immense wealth), I’m not surprised to read that he racistly believes that disadvantaged groups simply are culturally inferior. That was the ENTIRE basis of Jim Crow and biblical justifications for chattel slavery. He unfortunately represents a not-insignificant portion of this country, to our shame. I’m so tired of seeing disadvantaged groups lectured at, shamed, and recipients of tired canards about “culture” when the beginning, middle, and end of the matter is OPPRESSION.

nellcote

Rmoney’s saying jews are better with money? Wow.

creolechild

Minnesota Voter ID Amendment Draws Youth Activists July 18 2012

A coalition of groups led by the ACLU and the League of Women Voters made arguments in Minnesota’s Supreme Court yesterday against a ballot measure that would amend the state’s constitution to “require all voters to present valid photographic identification to vote.” The plaintiffs argue that the measure’s language obscures how the constitution would be changed. “Valid photographic identification” would only include those that were government-issued, and not other forms of ID, such as those issued by schools.

The court is expected to issue its decision by August 27, so the Secretary of State’s office will know whether to print up this fall’s ballots with the constitutional amendment proposal.

Can we be clear on one thing: Mitt doesn’t give a damn about Israel. He doesn’t give a damn about Bibi. He doesn’t have a clue what his ‘principles’ are concerning the Mideast or anything else. He is the embodiment of the lizard brain: he has a goal and only understands ruthlessness as a means to that goal.

This Israel trip was nothing more than a whoring expedition for money from Adelson.

A little-known fact is that his speech was to a handpicked audience of mainly American RW Jews. There weren’t even a whole lot of Israelis there. And although we hear about the standing ovation, reports from inside that room said even this handpicked audience knew they were looking at a ruthless empty suit.

Mitt the whore. There — I said it. This was all about Adelson’s money and nothing more.

creolechild

The is an excellent piece which highlights Romney’s lack of understanding about foreign policy while at the same time presenting a robust defense of PBO’s record.~

What I’d like to ask Mitt Romney about his foreign policy

Mitt Romney gave a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention yesterday. To no one’s surprise, he accused President Obama of leaking secrets, betraying U.S. allies, coddling dictators, and generally endangering America. The speech was long on rhetoric and innuendo but rather short on policy specifics, and it left me with a bunch of questions that I’d love to ask the GOP candidate. Because I doubt the campaign is going to offer me a one-on-one interview, I thought I’d serve up my top ten questions for Candidate Romney here.

Let us take a step back from Willard Romney’s Excellent European Adventure — I can’t wait until he gets to Poland and asks three people to change a lightbulb — and, now that’s he’s outside of the country, let’s take stock of the campaign he has presented to the Help in his attempt to become CEO of the United States Of Capital Gains, LLC. He has based his campaign on two-and-a-half pillars: 1) his experience at Bain Capital and general economic awesomeness; 2) his stewardship of the 2002 Winter Olympics in the middle of nowhe…er…Salt Lake City, and 3) his brief sojourn as governor of the Commonwealth (God save it!) of Massachusetts. (That’s the half-a-pillar, by the way.) Of course, the Help is only allowed a very limited assessment of all two-and-a-half pillars. The Help can’t really judge fully his performance at Bain because The Help is not entitled to see any more financial documents than he’s already released. The Help can’t really judge fully his performance with the Olympics because a whole bunch of documents went into the shredder. And the Help can’t really judge fully his time as governor because he and his staff scarfed the hard drives from a whole bunch of computers at the State House in the aftermath of his barely distinguishable leadership. That is his whole campaign theme: Mitt Romney: Take It Or Leave It.

……………………………………………………..

Corporate America has led the way in the battle against transparency of any sort anywhere. In this, the government learned from business. (Any time you hear a politician suggest that we run government “like a business,” this is what he really means.) Romney grew up in the culture of the shredder.He made his pile in a culture that disdains openness and scoffs at transparency. He simply doesn’t know any other way, and he’s not intellectually deft enough to pretend that he does. If he were, he’d have released those tax returns all in a great lump at five o’clock one Friday afternoon, probably prior to a three-day holiday weekend. Instead, he seems determined to brazen it out. On this issue, he’s removing the country’s hard drives and feeding democracy into the shredder…

But of particular interest to me was Scalia’s opposition to privacy rights. Unprompted, the justice noted his opposition to reproductive rights, and it led to this exchange:WALLACE: What about the right to privacy that the court found in known 1965?

SCALIA: There is no right to privacy. No generalized right to privacy.

WALLACE: Well, in the Griswold case, the court said there was.

SCALIA: Indeed it did, and that was — that was wrong.

In case anyone needs a refresher on Griswold, the Supreme Court, in a 7-to-2 ruling in 1965, struck down a Connecticut law that restricted married couples’ access to birth control. The court majority, in a landmark ruling, said such statutes are impermissible — they violate Americans’ right to privacy.

SCALIA: There is no right to privacy. No generalized right to privacy.
————————

Well then, open up your bank accounts so we can see who’s paying you off to make inane rulings on the Court.

rikyrah

Mitt’s trip to Israel and what he said actually matters.

Him being a fool in England has no context on POLICY MATTERS.

But, when a candidate for President of the United States,

stands up and calls JERUSALEM the capital of Israel

and, has an advisor that says, ‘It’s ok if Israel pre-emptively strikes IRAN’

that’s POLICY. and, it’s serious.

Folks better wake up to the fact that Willard wants to send young men and women BACK into War on the ground -WITH IRAN.

gc

He wants to take the action from his bathtub and his little toy boats to An Actual Battlefield. Still a Wimp.

rikyrah

Romney candidacy has resurrected last days prophecy of Mormon saving the Constitution
By Thomas Burr
The Salt Lake Tribune

Published June 4, 2007 6:34 am

It’s Mormon lore, a story passed along by some old-timers about the importance of their faith and their country.

In the latter days, the story goes, the U.S. Constitution will hang by a thread and a Mormon will ride in on a metaphorical white horse to save it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it does not accept the legend – commonly referred to as the “White Horse Prophecy” – as doctrine.

The issue, however, has been raised on those occasions when Mormons have sought the Oval Office: George Romney was asked about it during his bid in 1968, Sen. Orrin Hatch discussed it when he ran in 2000, and now Mitt Romney.

“It is being raised,” says Phil Barlow, a professor of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University. “I’ve heard it a bit lately.”

Romney says he doesn’t believe in the supposed prophecy, nor did his father when he ran.

Romney says he doesn’t believe in the supposed prophecy, nor did his father when he ran.
—————

You’re a high ranking bishop of the Mormon Church, but you don’t believe your own prophecy. OK.

rikyrah

I thought it was just me

creolechild

Well, that’s strange given that a high-ranking official in the Mormon Church made a statement which encompasses that particular philosophy, and applies it in a broader context to anywone who isn’t wealthy. And Mitt’s father supported civil rights; but Mitt doesn’t.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attends to the total needs of its members,” says Keith B. McMullin, who for 37 years served within the Mormon leadership and now heads a church-owned holding company, Deseret Management Corp. (DMC), an umbrella organization for many of the church’s for-profit businesses. “We look to not only the spiritual but also the temporal, and we believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.”

“We look to not only the spiritual but also the temporal, and we believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.”
===
so buy more guns from us.

rikyrah

In Jerusalem speech, it was Romney’s voice but Netanyahu’s words

Netanyahu embraces Romney as no Israeli prime minister has ever before embraced a candidate running against an incumbent U.S. president.

Romney’s staff picked the 150 guests carefully. Religious American immigrants dominated the crowd; secular Jews and native-born Israelis were few and far between. Those present included Jewish-American millionaires, settler leaders like the former chairman of the Yesha Council of settlements Israel Harel, and former Netanyahu aides such as Dore Gold, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Yoaz Hendel.

We can only speculate as to why Mitt Romney refuses to disclose more of his tax returns, but one of the leading theories has to do with the tax rate the very wealthy candidate has paid. Thanks to loopholes, Romney already pays a lower rate than most of the middle class, but thanks to his creative accounting, it’s possible years went by in which he paid nearly nothing.

ABC’s David Muir sat down with Romney in Israel yesterday, and asked the question in a good way.MUIR: [F]rom what you have released and from what we have seen we know that there was one year when you paid about 13.9% tax rate. Can we clear this up by asking a simple yes or no question? Was there ever any year when you paid lower than 13.9%?

ROMNEY: I haven’t calculated that. I’m happy to go back and look but my view is I’ve paid all the taxes required by law. From time to time I’ve been audited as happens I think to other citizens as well and the accounting firm which prepares my taxes has done a very thorough and complete job pay taxes as legally due.

Michigan’s recovery outpaces rest of U.S.
Confidence rises along with home, retail sales
By Jaclyn Trop
July 30, 2012 at 1:00 am The Detroit News

excerpt

Home sales are up 10 percent through June in the Great Lakes State compared with the nation’s 5 percent growth rate, according to the National Association of Realtors. And the state’s retail sales surged in April and May, while the national figure fell 0.2 percent.

The ongoing recovery of Detroit’s three automakers has paved the way for the uptick, with a resurgence in jobs and profitability. Michiganians figure the state has weathered the worst and are feeling more secure in their jobs, said Grosse Pointe Woods real estate agent Michael LeVan.

From his vantage point, “most people feel significantly better about their jobs than they did five years ago.”

I’ve noticed that the media is trying to make a big deal about the empty seats and ticket sales at the Olympics, no doubt in an effort to vindicate Romney’s criticism of London. But I guess CBS News’ Mark Phillips didn’t get the memo because on CBS This Morning, he said that tickets sales and filling seats has been an issue at previous Olympics.

crazycanuck

Yes it has. I’m surprised no one has mentioned that from the British committee.

lamh35

the Brit reporters said the empty seats are actually those reserved for sponsors and while many don’t come for the early heats or they stay in late, but the are a tally sold seats

nellcote

The sponsors should give the tickets to kids and people who can’t afford them. It would be great pr for them.

The other glitch was his strikingly antagonistic relationship with Obama. Despite a fence-mending meeting at the White House last year, the president never called again. McCain contrasts Obama’s aloof approach to lawmakers with that of Bill Clinton, who “was remarkably good to me.” In fact, McCain told me that he and Clinton chatted about policy in occasional phone calls during his 2008 campaign, even as the former president was backing Obama.http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/29/john-mccain-is-chomping-at-the-bit.html

Worldwatcher7

Not surprised. Clinton is a snake.

MsKitty

I heard a commercial on the radio this morning from one of the Romney PACs (Americans for Reform I think it’s called). The gist of the commercial was that PBO has accomplished nothing and has had to resort to negative campaigning to distort Willard’s record. The “highlight” of the ad was that these accusations of negative campaigning were coming from prominent Democrats including–wait for it–Bill Clinton, who calls Romney a man of sterling character.

POU fam, did we not all see this coming? Which is why I’m very perplexed about Clinton having a prominent role at the convention. You do not give prime time coverage to someone who is actively trying to sabotage PBO’s reelection. I do not agree with this move at all, and hope it does not blow up in the DNC’s faces.

crazycanuck

Better to keep him close

gc

They decided they would use his ego against him. “oooo a microphone, gonna do my Obma supporter schtick.” What a LITTLE man he truly is. There is no THERE there with either man. No wonder he s cool with Romney.

Hillary: divorce him, humiliate him, with your flaws you are still better than he.

nellcote

As the New York Times first reported, former president Bill Clinton will speak in primetime on the next-to-last day of the Democratic convention, on Wednesday, Sept 5….

But what shouldn’t be ignored about this decision is that Wednesday Sept. 5 is the NFL’s first game of the regular season, which will air on NBC. (It’s Giants-Cowboys; not exactly a matchup of teams that have small fan bases.) The Obama camp realized that it needed a big draw to compete with the NFL game and to convince the other networks to cover (NBC will NOT be airing any of the convention on the NFL night). In addition, moving Biden to Thursday isn’t a snub at all; in fact, it means that more male eyeballs will be on him than would have been the case if he went on Wednesday. Per NBC’s Dann, sources say the decision to bump Biden to the final night of the convention was made jointly by the VP and the president. Both Biden and Obama will speak at the football stadium.

After he became President, LBJ briefly considered firing FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, but eventually changed his mind. “I’d rather have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside pissing in,” the President reasoned.

rikyrah

Posted at 11:21 AM ET, 07/30/2012
The Morning Plum: A window into Mitt Romney’s foreign policy instincts
By James Downie

On some level, Mitt Romney’s Olympics gaffe last week was relatively harmless. Screwing up a visit to the United Kingdom, the underhand toss of foreign policy pitches, did in some ways suggest that Romney lacks the finesse to handle the nuances of international diplomacy, but the Olympics was hardly the most dangerous topic to shoot off one’s mouth about. Romney’s visit to Israel, however, is cementing the impression that on foreign policy, he is a disaster waiting to happen.

First, in a break with decades of U.S. policy, Romney referred to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Right wingers and neoconservatives may love to hear that, but there’s a reason no president has ever recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: Such a step would throw a wrench in any American push for a future Palestine-Israel negotiations. Second, senior foreign policy adviser Dan Senor told reporters that “if Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing the capability, the governor would respect that decision.” Romney declined to back up Senor’s tacit approval of an Israeli strike, but the comment was a revealing window into the advice Romney is hearing from his foreign policy advisers, almost all of whom are from the Bush White House. Worst of all, though, was this:

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor the elections on July 31, 2012, in Randolph and Washington Counties, Ga., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.

Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Randolph County based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in these counties, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

You know how Blacker Than Thou, Inc. is always saying PBO can’t relate to American Blacks because none of his ancestors were enslaved, or how Morgan Freeman said PBO wasn’t Black because his mother was white? Well….

Obama Has Ties to Slavery Not by His Father but His Mother, Research Suggests
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: July 30, 2012

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s biography — son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas — has long suggested that unlike most African-Americans, his roots did not include slavery.

Now a team of genealogists is upending that thinking, saying that Mr. Obama’s mother had, in addition to her European ancestors, at least one African forebear and that the president is most likely descended from one of the first documented African slaves in the United States.

The findings are scheduled to be announced on Monday by Ancestry.com, a genealogy company based in Provo, Utah. Its team, while lacking definitive proof, said it had evidence that “strongly suggests” Mr. Obama’s family tree — on his mother’s side — stretches back nearly four centuries to a slave in colonial Virginia named John Punch.

*it’s a possibility that the first enslaved African is the ancestor of the first Black President of the United States of America.*

Nothing but divine.

JojoRaze

I’m not surprised by this at all. My graduate studies have focused on slavery on the East coast US and VA was the crucible of how slavery developed in the US. Most of the rules of slavery: that the child takes the status of the mother and the antagonism between poor whites and poor blacks really developed from the laws enacted in VA after the Bacon’s Rebellion where poor white indentured servants/free people had united in protest with black people/slaves against the white planter class because the poor people didn’t think the planter class was doing enough to protect them against the Native Americans.

When you combine this with Wanda Sykes’ family history–her white 9th great grandmother, an indentured servant in VA had sex with a black man who was a slave and got pregnant and was punished with 39 lashes, but her child was freeborn; and the recent discoveries about the true origins of the Melungens in WVa, which was considered VA until the Civil War, what you see is that poor/indentured white women in VA were having sex with enslaved black men in close proximity to them and because of the rules of slavery, their children got their mother’s free status which allowed the black ancestry to be hidden over time.

isonprize

DROP that knowledge, Jojo. JUST DROP IT!!!

GreenLadyHere

HEEY isonproze. ***BIG HUG*** :>)

U B – – -“droppin’ it 2!!”- -:>)- –

Annnd THESE GENES/DNA – -R NOT “FOREIGN”. LOL.- —

Thank U 4 THIS information isonprize. :>)

— -The MELANIN—is HERE 2 STAY!! HAH!

Good 2 C U. :>)

rikyrah

Thanks for this…just tell the truth

GreenLadyHere

Sepia—- –it’s a possibility that the first enslaved African is the ancestor of the first Black President of the United States of America.— –BEYOND PROFOUND- –:>)

Way 2 – – -CONNECT- –☻- -☻. :>) Thank U. :>)

Worldwatcher7

If this is true, then since Nov. 2008 Mr. Punch has been up in heaven doing the dougie and shouting, “How you like me now?”

This billboard got a lot of media attention this weekend for its meme-style juxtaposition of President Obama and Aurora-shooter James Holmes. Styled like something you’d see on Reddit, the billboard features side-by-side pictures of the two men with the words “kills 12 in movie theater with assault rifle, everyone freaks out” over Holmes’ picture, and “kills thousands with his foreign policy, wins nobel peace prize” over Obama’s picture. Maurice Clements is the guy in charge the billboard. He’s part of a group who honor the memory of Libertarian Ralph Smeed. He says the group is angry over Obama not bringing the troops home. “We’re all outraged over that killing in Aurora, Colo., but we’re not outraged over the boys killed in Afghanistan,” Clements said. Locals think the billboard is “pathetic,” and “abhorrant.”

GN

This is a common libertarian refrain. It’s why I can’t take GG seriously, like, ever. What a nasty (and dishonest) billboard.

We’re all outraged over that killing in Aurora, Colo., but we’re not outraged over the boys killed in Afghanistan,” Clements said.

And Clements and the rest of the libertarian brigade aren’t outraged over Black boys killed in NYC, Chicago, L.A….etc.

Ebogan63

They can have a fucking seat.

creolechild

Report: 23 Largest Wind Farms In Illinois Bring $6 Billion In Economic Benefits To The State

Mitt Romney’s campaign says the candidate supports ending the production tax credit for wind — even while supporting billions in tax credits for the Big Five oil companies. Some are now wondering if Romney’s stance on wind will hurt him in the Midwest, where the technology has has such a positive economic impact.

The Obama administration is soooo hard to keep up with! Note: this article is from last year but, imo, good news just the same.~

Last week I had the honor of travelling to Detroit along with my colleagues from the White House, DOJ, DOL, EDU, HHS and HUD. As part of the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, we participated in a wonderful two day site visit focusing on the implementation of Detroit’ City Wide Youth Violence Prevention Plan….

We toured the three target areas in Detroit’s Youth Violence Prevention plan (Cody, Denby and Osborn). A key part of the plan is the successful implementation of their Safe Routes initiative. One of the primary goals of Safe Routes is to increase the safety of students on their way to and from school. Detroit has successfully enlisted faith based and community based volunteers who build relationships with students, and also patrol the surrounding communities acting as additional eyes and ears on the street.

We met with representatives from “Men on Patrol”, “the Man Network” and “M.A.D.E. Men” all volunteers who everyday of the week are up patrolling as early as 6:30am (rain, sleet or snow) to make sure that young people in their communities feel safe and are safe on their way to and from school.

– — —Amid the buzz of his world travels, ABC brought Mitt Romney back to his old Achilles heel: taxes. Asked last night if he has ever paid less than the 13.9% rate he paid in 2010, Romney said he’d have to check his records. “I haven’t calculated that,” Romney said in response to a question from David Muir on World News Tonight. “I’m happy to go back and look, but my view is I’ve paid all the taxes required by law. From time to time I’ve been audited as it happens, and the accounting firm which prepares my taxes has done a very thorough job to pay taxes as legally due,” he added. “I don’t pay more than are legally due. I know that I pay a very substantial amount.”

Romney’s rate falls below that typically paid by American taxpayers with incomes close to the $20 million Romney and his wife made in the last two years because tax law now tends to favor investment income over wages, notes Reuters. Romney is under increasing pressure from the Democrats and the GOP to release his recent tax returns.
THERE IS MORE

Watch our new PSA on dating violence, featuring the President, Vice President, and sports figures because 1 is 2 Many.

Despite the significant progress made in reducing violence against women, there is still a long way to go. Young women still face the highest rates of dating violence and sexual assault. In the last year, one in 10 teens have reported being physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend. One in five young women have been sexually assaulted while they’re in college….

– – – –Who didn’t see this coming? Man, he’s just stepping in it all over the place, good thing he’ll never be POTUS.

Romney, speaking to a group that included Las Vegas casino owner Sheldon Adelson and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, said higher personal wealth among citizens in Israel was an indication that the country was accomplishing something its neighbors were not.

“As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,” Romney said.

(snip)

“He says if you can learn anything from the economic history of the world, it’s this: culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference. And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things,” Romney said.- – – –***HEAD HIT KEYBOARD***

– ——- – SNIP- –

“This man, before he came here, he should have got some education about Israelis, Palestinians, and the region,” Erekat said. “The Romney statements on Jerusalem and the racist statements about the Israeli culture being superior to the Palestinian culture reflect someone who needs to be educated, who needs knowledge. His statements are serving those extremist in the region now, and will serve extremists unfortunately.”

– – – -DI-ENT WE TELL HIM 2- – – -SHUT da FLIP UP!!??_ –geesh!!

Alexander2

Cultural superiority. Where have I heard that? I despise this man.

Where are my manners. Good morning, GLH. Have a great day.

GreenLadyHere

GOOD MONDAY MORNTIN’ ALEXANDER2. ***BIG HUG***——:>)

– — -I KNOW-HUH! geesh.

Lemme share 2 places:

– – -☻- —, the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. And thus saith the Lord God; I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.” (2 Nephi 5:21)

You go to all my favorite places. How’s P-Town? My Kiddos & I spent some fun times there back in the day. We use to camp at various beaches on the Cape. Don’t know if you can still do this.

gc

Hi AG- the erosion has been so badhere, they’ve gotten very restrictive.

We discovered p-town a million years ago when my cousin and her partner had a place here. I cannot explain it,but there is no other place I feel so free.

BTW, husband found an Obama booth set up on Commercial St,got me lots of goodies:)

Aquagranny911

One of our favs was Wellfleet. There was a public access beach there that was never too crowded. Of course that was 30+ years ago. I guess things have changed so much now that I would not know it anymore.

When we lived in Massachusetts I did so love the South Shore & Cape. We spent as much time there as we could every summer. Camping was pretty good all up & down the Cape.

Sandwich was another place my Kiddos loved because of Thornton W. Burgess. His animal stories are classic. We always had to stop & tour his home whenever we were near.

Aquagranny911

Alexander, I’ve gone so far beyond “despise” that I don’t have a word to really describe my feelings about “this man”

Town

Romney, speaking to a group that included Las Vegas casino owner Sheldon Adelson and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, said higher personal wealth among white Americans was an indication that they were accomplishing something non-whites were not.

“As you come here and you see the annual income, for instance, in white America which is about $50,000 dollars, and compare that with the annual income by blacks, which is more like $10,000 per year you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,” Romney said.

(snip)

“He says if you can learn anything from the economic history of the world, it’s this: culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference. And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the white Americans of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things,” Romney said.- – – -*

———–
There. Fixed.

GreenLadyHere

GOOD Monday Morntin’ Town. ***BIG HUG*** :>)

—–LOL. ***fist bump*** —

– – –BWAHAHA- – —>for instance, in white America which is about $50,000 dollars, and compare that with the annual income by blacks, which is more like $10,000 per year you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,” Romney said.– – –

– – — U! AIN’T!- – -NEVA! LIED!— LOL- – –

THANK U 4 da- — -“FIX!”- – – -It is soooo him!! :>)

Good 2 C U Town. :>)

rikyrah

tell it Town.

TELL IT

nellcote

Israel had a per capita gross domestic product of about $31,000 in 2011, while the West Bank and Gaza had a per capita GDP of just over $1,500, according to the World Bank.

BoomerGal

And don’t forget the 3 billion dollars in aide that the U.S. gives them EACH YEAR.

creolechild

Shameful!~

Florida sends TB patients to $35-a-night motel

As you may recall, Florida was accused of covering up of the worst TB outbreak in 20 years. Of course, poor black men were most affected, most likely uninsured poor black men.

~snip~

Now, today, again from the Post, we have this: [F]or at least two years, TB patients were routed by Duval County health officials to the Monterey Motel and told to stay put. […] until they no longer were contagious, state Department of Health spokeswoman Jessica Hammonds said.

The man-and-woman team responsible for cleaning rooms, who spoke only limited English, appeared confused when asked whether they had taken precautions. In fact, Kevin Davis, a former manager with the Duval County Health Department’s TB unit, questioned whether hotel managers had been briefed fully about TB transmission or precautions for staff.

10. The fundraiser is being held in the King David Hotel, which was famously blown up by the Zionist terrorist organisation Irgun in 1946, in a strike that killed 91 people and wounded dozens, many of them innocent civilians. Irgun leader Menachem Begin (later a leader of the ruling Likud party) hit the hotel because there were British security offices there, which were tracking violent organisations like his own, during the British mandate period of Palestine. He maintained that he called ahead to warn of the bombing, but that is just propaganda to take the edge off the deed – who in 1946 would have taken such a call seriously? When Netanyahu and other Likud leaders attended a commemoration of the bombing, the British Foreign Office sent over a sharp note of protest. I guess Romney is not finished with insulting London.

– – —Venus Williams began her bid for a record fourth gold medal in Olympic tennis Monday by beating Sara Errani of Italy, 6-3, 6-1.

It was an impressive showing by Williams, who is unseeded and drew a tough first-round foe. Errani has won four titles this year, was the runner-up at the French Open and is ranked a career-high No. 9.

But Williams was in fine form on the Wimbledon grass, where she has won five of her seven Grand Slam titles.

I was watching my local Univision station last night & they gave some good coverage to the Williams sisters & to Aly & Gabby. They also showed footage of FLOTUS hugging the basketball team. So some US stations are paying attention.

GreenLadyHere

HEEY Aquagranny911. ***BIG HUG** :>)

Ohh- -THANK U. :>) I KNOW that I did NOT have a READ on ALL the BLAH MEDIA.

Maybe I’m just OVERWHELMED by the paucity of time SPENT on US by the MEDIA in general.

– – –President Obama has an overall edge in the 12 decisive battleground states that is measurably greater than his advantage in national polling.

The dynamic, which may reflect a combination of lower swing-state unemployment rates and demographic advantages for the president, is causing stirrings of unease among Republicans, even as they emphasize that it is important not to read too much into the state of the race right now.

“Obama is concentrating his considerable early resources and messaging in the swing states, and it’s had an impact,” said Mark McKinnon, who served as a media adviser for President George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns.
THERE IS MORE

She looks awful. Mutton dressed as lamb! I think she is trying to copy Michelle’s style which has featured florals & dramatic patterns. Michelle looks excellent in bold colors & exotic patterns. Ann would do well to stick to simple lines and neutral colors & cover those knees! Some older women still have shapely legs. Ann does not!

I suppose the Robmes have to copy everything because they have no substance.

isonprize

They STAY copying POTUS and FLOTUS. If she had even a tap of fashion sense, she’d know that the one for her to copy is Dr. Jill Biden.

Dr Jill has her own style, but she is always on point. She doesn’t try to be FLOTUS, she just does Jill and she does it very well.

You are preaching on this one. Dr Jill like Miss Ann is a fair skinned blonde and dresses like one. She knows she can’t do patterns like chocolate-caramel Michelle so she stays with blues and pastels and looks great. Miss Ann is dressing like Michelle even though he skin and age doesn’t call for it. She does need to take tips from Dr Jill.

Mitt Romney’s unpleasant trip to the U.K. last week quickly became the stuff of legend. No one can even remember the last time a prominent American politician traveled abroad, visited with officials from a close ally, and bungled an excursion this badly.

Perhaps the Republican presidential hopeful would have more luck in Israel? Not really.

Initially, Romney’s team said it would bar U.S. reporters from covering an Israeli fundraiser, but in the face of criticism, the campaign reversed course. Worse, Romney’s top foreign policy aide, Dan Senor, suggested to reporters that Romney is prepared to support a unilateral Israeli military strike on Iran, and the campaign spent the next few hours scrambling, trying to carefully “clarify” Senor’s comments, without actually rejecting his underlying point.

I named 15. That pretty good for me because in previous administrations I doubt if I could have named more than 4.

rikyrah

Found this in the comments at Balloon Juice:

kay Says:

The Sherrod Brown-Barack Obama interplay in Ohio is interesting.
It’s such a mutually beneficial accident that they’re both up at the same time. Brown validates Obama with labor and white working class, and Obama validates Brown with turnout in the “3 C’s” (Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati). Brown has added this line to his stump speech “Obama is better on trade enforcement than the last 4 Presidents” and Brown is absolutely credible in Ohio on trade with labor, because that’s been his career-long issue, House and then Senate.
They’re perfectly complimentary on women’s issues, too.
The state convention had an undeniable Focus on Women feel, and Connie Schultz (Brown’s wife) was up first. She took a really unusual approach for a political spouse. She presented herself not as Brown’s wife, but as an Ohio Democrat (which she was, first, they didn’t marry until she was 46) and then explained why she, as an ordinary Ohio Democrat and a feminist, would support Brown and Obama.

Next up was Lilly Ledbetter, who started with “Obama as feminist” and then went to Democrats in Congress as working for equal pay. They’re making women’s issues a populist issue, an economic issue. Lilly Ledbetter isn’t a feminist in an abstract way. Lilly Ledbetter is a feminist because she was paid 40% less for the exact same job for 20 years. She said that hurt her family finances, her children’s standard of living, which of course it did.
It’s just funny to watch the speculation on whether Romney will pick Portman to “help” in Ohio when there’s this OTHER Presidential/Senatorial Ohio synchronicity campaign that is completely ignored nationally, going on NOW and may actually be more important in terms of moving the needle.

I sort of hope Romney picks Portman because then it becomes Obama/Brown versus Romney/Portman, in a way, within the state

JojoRaze

Sherrod Brown is running with Obama instead of from Obama and is still ahead by at least 5 points in the polls. McCaskill in Missouri should take note.

Near the end of a long article in the Washington Post about the resistance people have in Oklahoma to buying car insurance or being told what to do by the government, we encounter an anonymous man who has no health insurance and doesn’t like the insurance mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

On a recent morning at the center, patients waited in avo­cado-green chairs to pick up medicine or see a doctor. John, 37, who would not give his last name, said he could not afford health insurance for himself, his wife and his five children on his $38,000 salary as an apartment manager. He said he resents the idea that the government could compel him to do something he may not be able to afford.
“I don’t think the government should have the right to force people to do anything unless it’s following a criminal law or something,” he said.

This man has a large family. It’s larger than can be accounted for by the Kaiser Foundation health care subsidy calculator, which only will allow me to enter a maximum family size of four. Since he has a family size of seven, I can’t get a precise measure of what this man stands to get under ObamaCare, but it will be more generous than what I report here.

Cripes, it’s like you have to sit these people down one by one to explain what’s in the bill and how the government will practically pay them to have health insurance. We need a medical pac putting out ads with factual information if the government can’t do it similar to the anti-smoking/seat belt/anti litter campaigns.

Alma98

Good morning everyone. My husband and I were watching The Mad Violinist over the weekend. I’ll have to tell him to check out the blog this week.

– – — –Jennifer Rubin is a real piece of work. Let’s take a look at part of her Washington Post piece on Mitt Romney’s visit to Israel.

Without specifically criticizing President Obama in his speech in Jerusalem, Mitt Romney delivered a blow to the Obama campaign’s frantic efforts to defend the president’s hostile stance toward the Jewish state simply by saying: “It is a deeply moving experience to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.” The Obama administration can’t even say that much, a sign of how reflectively protective of the Palestinians’ sensibilities is this president. Of course, Jerusalem is the capital. It was declared so in 1948. The Knesset is there. The disposition of its borders is a matter for final status negotiation, but only an uninformed or virulently insensitive administration would be unable to distinguish the two.

Okay. First we have the idea that the Obama administration is hostile to Israel based on their refusal to call Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Let’s deal with some facts. In 2002, Congress passed a bill that would allow American citizens who were born in Jerusalem to put the word ‘Israel’ on their passport. This was in response to State Department policy that neither Jordan nor Israel be listed on such passports. George W. Bush signed the bill but he issued a signing statement declaring that the language on Jerusalem was unconstitutional.—[BUSH—-WANCH!!! geesh]

– — -SNIP– —

So, in essence, when it comes to talking about Jerusalem, Romney is not much different from Obama who is not much different from the lesser Bush. The entirely of Ms. Rubin’s column is calumnious lie.
THERE IS MORE- – -Good stuff! :>)

This election will not be a popularity contest by any means, but the ability to relate to, and attempt to help, average Americans struggling through the Republican-caused economic malaise gives the President an advantage.

For the past few days, pundits and media-types have enjoyed what they call “Romney’s gaffes” as if they are aberrations, but they are not gaffes, or mistakes, or miscues; they are the real Romney. His penchant for lying, secrecy, pretentiousness, and arrogance are who the man is and one thing is certain; whether he is visiting foreign countries or running for the presidency at home, Willard Romney is The Ugly American.

After the election, Obama wanted his economic stimulus package to include some iconic, futuristic legacy projects to advance his long-term agenda. The smart grid seemed perfect, a modern moon mission, a 21st century version of the interstates. He suggested pouring in $100 billion. “Let’s just build it!” he told his transition team. His aides explained that that wasn’t possible or even desirable….

But behind the scenes, Obama’s billions are gradually upgrading the grid. Utilities now receive updates on transmission lines 30 times a second instead of every two seconds. They are also expanding transmission, even though electricity use has yet to recover to prerecession levels.[…] Meanwhile, stimulus investments in sensors, auto-mated substations, “synchrophasors” and other unsexy electrical equipment are helping diagnose, pinpoint and solve problems before we even notice them so utilities no longer have to deploy battalions of trucks to troubleshoot entire neighborhoods. “People don’t see it, but it’s happening,” Fox-Penner says.

— — The NRA is taking credit for scuttling a UN treaty that would have limited the sale of weapons to potential human rights abusers overseas.

In a triumphant email titled “NRA Stops U.N. Arms Trade Treaty” and sent to constituents within hours of the Arms Trade Treaty’s (ATT) death on Friday, the NRA wrote:

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre testified before the U.N. making it clear that the NRA would fight any international treaty that included civilian arms.

and

NRA maintains its steadfast opposition to any treaty that includes civilian arms in any way. NRA will continue to work with our allies, particularly in the U.S. Senate, to insure that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is not threatened by this or any future international treaty.– -[ANNNND!?]

– — To be crystal clear, no constitutional right could possibly have been affected by this treaty: First, because it would only have dealt with international arms trade, and second because no treaty can supersede the U.S. Constitution, period, full stop.

As LeVar Burton used to put it in “Reading Rainbow,” you don’t have to take my word for it. I spoke with Michael Doyle, a Columbia Law School professor and expert in international treaties. He said that while the ATT “might hypothetically restrict [Americans’] ability to buy an AK-47 from Russia”; overall, “the Constitution is superior to all treaties, so there’s no way a treaty could change the Constitution.” THERE IS MORE.

The NRA is so fucked up. They’re essentially supporting all those “little civil wars” causing misery around the world. Not to mention that whole Fast and Furious freak out. I still don’t understand the goopers point on that. Do they want more guns in Mexico? Then why complain when they end up there?

GreenLadyHere

nellcote- —–THEY WANT- – — GUN SALES!- – -THAT IS ALL!

As U posted- — THEY R 4 the GUN MANUFACTURERS –

—NOT gun USERS!!- – -BUT – – -THEY ‘ON’T KNOW!!- -STOOPID!!

rikyrah

Diplomacy, Bain-Style

Paul Krugman adds his thoughts to a Fred Kaplan piece on how Romney’s private equity past differs from his predecessors:

T]he bankers of yore operated by building relationships; Bain made its investors money in large part by breaking relationships, e.g. by walking away from implicit promises to workers. It’s not a style that makes for good diplomacy

Mitt has been a $250 million virtual dictator in his own bubble for decades. He isn’t used to asking people, he is used to telling them. So he told the Brits they were unprepared for the Olympics and he told the Palestinians that their culture is inferior to Israel’s. He’s like a Bain consultant arriving at a new company each time he visits a new country. Generally speaking, the arrival of a consultant is not a source of great joy among a company’s employees. Ditto countries and people.

Olympic athletes are among the millions of Americans who have trouble finding affordable and comprehensive health care. In fact, the Elite Athletes Health Insurance Plan, administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield, covers only basic preventative care and charges higher premiums for out-of-network care..[…] The plan does not cover the expensive sports injuries top athletes incur regularly. The plan also does not cover the frequent check-ins athletes require to stay healthy, nor the early and meticulous treating of illnesses and injuries, which can keep athletes on the sidelines.

~snip~

Almost all top athletes purchase back-up health insurance to cover the catastrophic injuries they are particularly prone to, or they use insurance through a spouse or parent’s plan. Gymnasts in particular, who are usually the youngest Olympians, are likely to be included under a parent’s health coverage, and thanks to Obamacare, more Olympians who are under 26 could stay under their parents’ insurance to supplement coverage.

Floridians line up to vote.
Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist recently wrote an op-ed condemning “zealots” for imposing new restrictions on voting, “overreacting to contrived threats of voter fraud by significantly narrowing the voting pool.” As it turns out, he’s not the only former Florida Republican with these concerns.

In a 630-page deposition recorded over two days in late May, [Florida’s former Republican Party chairman Jim Greer], who is on trial for corruption charges, unloaded a litany of charges against the “whack-a-do, right-wing crazies” in his party, including the effort to suppress the black vote.

In the deposition, released to the press [last week], Greer mentioned a December 2009 meeting with party officials. “I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting,” he said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He also said party officials discussed how “minority outreach programs were not fit for the Republican Party,” according to the AP.

TPM2012
Romney: Socialized Health Care Good For Israel, Not For U.S.
Sahil Kapur- July 30, 2012, 12:45 PM

During a trip to Israel, Mitt Romney hailed the nation’s health care system for holding down costs and broadening coverage more effectively than the U.S.

The irony: Israel contains costs by adopting a very centralized, government-run health care system — anathema to Romney’s Republican Party.

“Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the GDP in Israel? Eight percent. You spend eight percent of GDP on health care. You’re a pretty healthy nation,” he said Monday at a breakfast fundraiser, according to the New York Times. “We spend 18 percent of our GDP on health care, 10 percentage points more. That gap, that 10 percent cost, compare that with the size of our military — our military which is 4 percent, 4 percent. Our gap with Israel is 10 points of GDP. We have to find ways — not just to provide health care to more people, but to find ways to fund and manage our health care costs.”

Israel’s health care system is an instructive exercise in all that rankles American conservatives — replete with government mandates, price controls and centralized payments funded mostly by high taxes.

Jonah Lehrer Resigns From New Yorker Magazine After Fabricated Quotes Found In His Book
Celebrated science writer Jonah Lehrer has resigned his staff writing position at The New Yorker after quotes in his latest book, “Imagine,” were found to be fabricated. In a statement released by his publisher, Lehrer said:

The lies are over now. I understand the gravity of my position. I want to apologize to everyone I have let down, especially my editors and readers. I also owe a sincere apology to Mr. Moynihan. I will do my best to correct the record and ensure that my misquotations and mistakes are fixed.

A new poll from a Republican pollster finds Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) ahead in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, while President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are neck-and-neck in the Buckeye State.

The latest poll conducted by Republican polling firm Magellan Strategies on behalf of Opportunity Ohio shows Brown, who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, leading GOP challenger and state treasurer Josh Mandel, 45 percent to 38 percent.

In the presidential race, Obama holds a 2-point lead over Romney among likely Ohio voters — an edge that is well within the poll’s 4.01 percent margin of error.

The PollTracker Average shows that Ohio currently favors both Democrats, with Brown leading Mandel, 45.9-40.8 percent, and Obama holding a 47.2-42.1 percent advantage over Romney in the perennial swing state.

The Substantive Dangers of Romney’s Israel Visit
By Bernard Finel July 30th, 2012

So, John and Dennis G. and mistermix have already noted the bizarre obsequiousness of Romney’s visit to Israel. But in some ways that misses the point. I mean, look, if it just so happened that American interests lined up perfectly with those of Israel, then this would be all about tone, and I find discussions of tone fairly empty. We’ve all had good fun pointing out the absurdity of the “Obama apology tour” line of attack. That is also about tone, and whatever, I just don’t care. But what I do care about is that Romney’s attitude betrays some real, and bizarre, foreign policy commitments. Two jumped out at me. In John’s piece, he quite a Dan Senor statement, but misses the most interesting part, where Senor says,

Senor said that Romney believes in a zero enrichment policy in Iran and that Tehran must believe “the alternative to zero enrichment is severe, and that’s why the threat of military force has to be critical.”

Now, here is the thing. This basically moves the goalposts significantly.It moves the issue from preventing the acquisition of nuclear weapons to the existence of a nuclear program at all. This isn’t actually current USG policy. And what’s more, it is a goal that is virtually impossible to get support for internationally since under international law, Iran has an absolute right to peaceful nuclear energy, and that includes enrichment activities consistent with that.

I hear ya Mr. Finel. You would think that the U.S. would be war weary at this point but that “culture” statement is fightin words. Every president (even W.) talked of peaceful negotiations between Israel and Palestine but not Romney. He is squarely behind Israel. I wonder how many more lives this country is willing to give up.

A few weeks ago, President Obama and his campaign team made it clear they have the advantage on hot-button, culture-war issues by launching a new ad, slamming Mitt Romney over his opposition to abortion rights. The spot was apparently successful enough to spur a sequel.

In this ad, viewers see a voter named Jenni arguing, “I’ve never felt this way before, but it’s just a scary time to be a woman. Mitt Romney is so out of touch.” A narrator walks through the Republican’s policy positions, including opposition to contraception coverage as part of preventive care and support for overturning Roe v. Wade.

The spot also includes a controversial claim: “Romney backed a bill that outlaws all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.” It’s the part of the ad that’s generating the most pushback, and by way of a defense, the Obama campaign cites Romney comment from a debate in November, when he said he would be “delighted” to sign a bill returning abortion rights to the states if the Supreme Court struck down Roe.

Posted at 12:35 PM ET, 07/30/2012
Romney was audited, but that may not mean anything
By Greg Sargent

Dems are pouncing on Mitt Romney’s admission in an interview with ABC News that he has been audited in the past:

QUESTION: From what you have released and from what we have seen we know that there was one year when you paid about 13.9% tax rate. Can we clear this up by asking a simple yes or no question? Was there ever any year when you paid lower than 13.9%?
ROMNEY: I haven’t calculated that. I’m happy to go back and look but my view is I’ve paid all the taxes required by law. From time to time I’ve been audited as happens I think to other citizens as well and the accounting firm which prepares my taxes has done a very thorough and complete job pay taxes as legally due. I don’t pay more than are legally due and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due I don’t think I’d be qualified to become president. I’d think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the tax code requires.

In fairness to Romney here, the fact that he has been audited may mean nothing. “Being audited by itself doesn’t mean anything,” Roberton Williams of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center tells me. “Any audit can result in absolutely no change in taxes. Others can result in many changes. Audits can find lots of mistakes. Some of them are purely mathematic.

True enough but I want to know why the Democrats haven’t screamed to the roof tops about seeing more tax returns! The Republicans taunted and nit-picked Obama for 3 years about his birth certificate! Ain’t heard a peep from “the liberals.”

Mitt Romney’s ongoing distortion of Obama’s “didn’t build that” quote has been debunked by FactCheck.org, Politifact, the Associated Press, and many others. Romney’s other leading distortion of the moment — his use of Obama’s claim that “our” plan “worked,” in which Obama was talking about the Clinton/Obama approach to taxes, not Obama’s economic policies — was dismantled convincingly today by Post fact checker Glenn Kessler.

So how is the Romney campaign responding? Easy. It will make both quotes central to the campaign for the coming week, and likely beyond.

The two major press releases out this morning from the Romney campaign are centered on the debunked claims about those two quotes. Romney also released a new Web video that distorts the “it worked” quote yet again. In other words, some of Romney’s most important campaign arguments continue to be premised on complete fictions.

Many of you may have read or heard about Mike Tomasky’s cover story for Newsweek entitled: “Mitt Romney’s Wimp Factor.” It’s a pretty savage piece that has some serious sport with “daddy party” pretensions about the “manliness” of conservative leaders.

What personally interests me about Romney’s “wimpiness,” if you want to use that loaded term, is that his transparently flexible principles create a toxic dynamic in his relationship with his own strongest supporters. Here’s how Tomasky puts it:
………………………………..

Precisely because conservatives have abundant reasons not to trust him, along with abundant reasons to believe they can bully him, Romney will perpetually be in what I call the “primary phase” of his political career. And that will make him a weak president who is never quite the leader of his own political party. That’s why I was suggesting in an earlier post today that whatever names appear on the signs at the Republican Convention in Tampa and on the bumper stickers of all those red-state SUVs, the real ticket is Ryan-Romney. This has nothing to do with Romney’s “manliness” or “wimpiness,” and everything to do with the devil’s bargain that’s brought him to the brink of his Oval Office dreams.

It isn’t that Mitt doesn’t hold to his principles. It’s that he doesn’t actually have any principles related to the things most people are concerned about. He couldn’t care less about personal integrity, making the world a better place, helping people who need the help, democracy, being productive, any of that. They aren’t even on his radar.

The principle that he is attached to is that he is going to show the world that he’s better than his father, a failed presidential candidate. I suspect that he would even sacrifice a goodly portion of his personal fortune for that goal if he had to, although I’m sure it would be like having his gonads pulled off with pliers.

rikyrah

July 30, 2012 11:06 AM

Ryan-Romney

By Ed Kilgore

During the long rise of the U.S. conservative movement, every time it appeared a breakthrough victory was in sight, a frustrating defeat occurred that was invariably blamed on circumstances that had nothing to do with the conservative ideology itself. Goldwater lost in 1964 because of national mourning over John F. Kennedy, and LBJ’s diabolocal ability to exploit it. Nixon turned out to be a traitor who very nearly ruined the GOP “brand.” Reagan’s bold plans were cramped by a recession caused by his predecessor. The 1994 “Revolution” was partially coopted by an amoral member of the opposition, and partly destroyed by the personal weaknesses of GOP leaders. And George W. Bush, as we have been told repeatedly since 2008, “betrayed his conservative principles” and thus invited economic and electoral disaster.

Now, many conservatives believe, the great gittin’-up morning is finally here, or will arrive on November 7 when Barack Obama is defeated and Republicans also take over control of both Houses of Congress. And who will their leader be in the long-awaited effort to roll back three-quarters-of-a-century of legislative and judicial “activism” and cultural “relativism” that has all but destroyed the country? Mitt Romney? No, no, a thousand times no! Romney will enable the revolution, because he has no choice to do otherwise, but The Leader’s identity is pretty obviously Paul Ryan.

The speech itself sounded as if it could have been written by Netanyahu’s bureau. So it’s no surprise that when the two met later for dinner, Netanyahu thanked him for his “support for Israel and Jerusalem.” In general, Netanyahu embraced Romney as no Israeli prime minister has ever before embraced a candidate running against an incumbent U.S. president: Aside from their working meeting in the morning, Netanyahu also hosted Romney and his wife and sons for dinner at his official residence.

The crowd told you everything you need to know:

Religious American immigrants dominated the crowd; secular Jews and native-born Israelis were few and far between. Those present included Jewish-American millionaires, settler leaders like the former chairman of the Yesha Council of settlements Israel Harel, and former Netanyahu aides such as Dore Gold, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Yoaz Hendel.

Settlers and religious fanatics: it’s striking how the entire foreign policy position of the GOP in the Middle East has essentially been out-sourced to the Likud.

I do think that differences in cultural values can help explain differences in the relative wealth of nations, but it’s not something to be discussed casually. And, as a political topic, it’s radioactive. If you’re running for office, you’re running to represent all your constituents, and if some of them are from Ecuador or Mexico or Palestine, they’re not going to like being told that their cultures are inferior. That’s what Mitt Ronmey did at a fundraiser in Israel. Of course, the Palestinians are outraged that Romney would overestimate their annual income by a factor of ten, blame their culture for their economic hardship, and assert that their misery is the result of providence. Even many Israelis were offended by Romney’s basic argument.

Talking Points Memo received a transcription of Romney’s remarks from his campaign. Reading it made me wonder if Romney is taking some kind of powerful medication because his words are almost nonsensical.

…………………………………………..

I can kind of follow along with what he’s saying, but it’s a whole lot of bullshit. There’s nothing particularly important about what he had to say, except that it revealed a lot about how he thinks. And it one more demonstration that Romney has a gift for insulting people unintentionally.

“I’m told in a Sunday school class I attended— I think my son Tagg was teaching the class. He’s not here. I look around to see. Of course he’s not here. He was in London. He taught a class in which he was describing the concern on the part of some of the Jews that left Egypt to come to the promised land, that in the promised land was down the River Nile, that would provide the essential water they had enjoyed in Egypt. They came here recognizing that they must be relied upon, themselves and the arm of God to provide rain from the sky. And this therefore represented a sign of faith and a show of faith to come here. That this is a people that has long recognized the purpose in this place and in their lives that is greater than themselves and their own particular interests, but a purpose of accomplishment and caring and building and serving.”

gc

“Tagg” ? Ms Palin named the Romney kids as well?

JojoRaze

Tagg is just his nickname. The real name is Taggart. Sounds like the name of a leather jacket company or a shady televangelist.

Miranda

Taggart?

*keeps thoughts to myself*

creolechild

It gets better…when asked during an interview about his name Tagg indicated, as you pointed out, that he was named after a family friend–who he referred to as “Tagg Taggert.” Just bizaaarre…

First, why would he be in a Sunday school class; isn’t that for children?

Second, if he was in the class, why didn’t he know if his own son,Tagg, was the one teaching it?

Is he hearing voices?…”He’s not here”…”I look around to see.”

Followed by, “Of course he’s not here. He was in London.”

Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with this man…and I think arrested development is just the tip of the iceberg.

nellcote

I guess he forgot about the Jordan River.

GreenLadyHere

LOL.—ALEXANDER2.. – —-***lookin’ around-*****

That’s what -I THOUGHT!!- — -NOBODY!– — LOL geesh.

Camille

LOL.

Romney is trying very hard to make mormonism sound mainstream Christian

“Sunday school”. Yeah right!

If you insist Bishop Romney, if you insist.

creolechild

Must be all of that “executive experience, at work!

Seriously, who the hell is on Romney’s advance team and why do they still have their jobs? Do they not do any kind of research at all, or were they so blinded by Sheldon Adelson’s promise of making it rain donations that they didn’t bother to check a calendar?

~snip~

Yup. They were “aware of” but not particularly sensitive to the date. Because [who] schedules a dinner fundraiser on a day of fasting? Who asks for money on a day of mourning? As Jeffrey Goldberg called it, it’s incredibly vulgar.

So first Mittens repeatedly insults the British, our very special “friend” (or enabler, depending on how you want to look at it), then insults the Israelis, and now he’s on his way to Poland for the last leg of his international tour. I’m a little afraid to think how this is going to turn out.

Yet these are the fools who laugh at Obama pronouncing POK-I-STAN instead of PAKASTAN

nellcote

I love that PBO pronounces Pakistan (and other ME names) correctly.

rikyrah

me too

GreenLadyHere

nellcote—–***fist bunp*** HE KNOWS – -HOW 2 RELATE 2 OTHERS!!-

– -U RESPECT their NAMES!! :>) GOOD ON HIM!! :>)

Camille

My Pakistani friends love that he pronounces it correctly too.

Alexander2

The afternoon open thread is now available for your comments.

creolechild

Sexual Assault Victims Charged Up To $1,200 In Wisconsin For Cost Of Their Rape Kits

For years, hospitals in northeastern Wisconsin have billed sexual assault victims as much as $1,200 for the cost of their examinations, according to a new investigation. The Post-Crescent newspaper found that, despite the availability of government funds to cover the cost of sexual assault examinations, many hospitals were sending the bill to victims. The AP has more:

The world’s 20th richest man declared recently that a living wage bill passed (over his veto) by New York’s city council was the next best thing to Communist central planning. Michael Bloomberg, who’s also made news recently trying to ban large sodas, today took the next step in proving how serious he is about keeping wages low–I mean, keeping New York City a “business-friendly” climate.

Bloomberg is suing to prevent not just the living wage bill, but a companion “prevailing wage” bill that the City Council also passed over his veto, from going into effect….